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CBD For Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig’s Disease

According to the ALS association, “Every day, an average of 15 people are newly diagnosed with ALS — more than 5,600 people per year. As many as 30,000 Americans may currently be affected by ALS. Annually, ALS is responsible for two deaths per 100,000 people. The average life expectancy of a person with ALS is two to five years from time of diagnosis. With recent advances in research and improved medical care, many patients are living longer, more productive lives.”

One method of medical care that is gaining popularity is CBD. Although there has been a decent amount of research involving the endocannabinoid system, and some other cannabinoids, the Journal of General Practice recently studied the significance of CBD and its effects on ALS.

This study found neuroprotective and antiapoptotic activities of cannabinoids in neurodegenerative processes. Because inflammation accompanies the death of motor neurons in ALS, it is importantly noted that CBD has been shown to have strong anti-inflammatory properties. It isn’t completely understood how CBD reduces inflammation, but experiments have shown that low doses of CBD can “act as adenosine A2A receptor – and Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor (PPARg) agonist, and as G-protein coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) antagonist, decreasing the levels of inflammatory mediators such as TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-12, without acting directly on COX 1 or 2.”

CBD has also been shown to act as a negative allosterical modulator, which partially decreases the activity of ligands on CB1 receptors. For CB2 receptors, CBD acts as a receptor-inverse agonist. These reasons help explain, to some degree, why CBD acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and inhibits the migration of macrophages, microglial cells, and neutrophils.

Additionally, this study notes that CBD “seems to be well tolerated and safe in humans, even at high doses and with chronic use, and can easily be combined with existing treatment regimens.”

There may be a lot more discoveries made in the future about why CBD has been working well for people struggling from this deadly disease, but for now, it appears a lot of it could be due to its anti-inflammatory attributes.

Tisha Casida (in a Hemp Field of Colorado) Founder of That's Natural! and a staunch advocate of Food & Medicine Freedom. She has owned her own small business for nine years, and as a former candidate for Congress, has first-hand knowledge of policy issues and solutions for Coloradans.